Display device

ABSTRACT

A display screen, for example a touch-sensitive screen, provides a first type of audible output when a region of the display screen is indicated for possible input, and a second type of audible output when an input is made at a region of the display screen. The display screen may be provided in a communications device such as a mobile phone, with different regions of the screen representing the numeric keys of the phone. Without looking at the screen, the user can then use the audible output indicating that he is touching a region representing a key, to determine the position of his finger on the screen

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a display system, and in particular to adisplay system which is used as part of an input device. Morespecifically, the display system is primarily intended for use in aninput device, in which a user selects an item from a number of itemsshown on a display.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Touch-sensitive display screens are known, for example from U.S. Pat.No. 5,815,142. In such devices, information can be presented to a useron a display screen, such as a liquid crystal display screen. The usercan then select one of the displayed items by touching the relevant areaof the screen. This document also discloses that, when one of thedisplayed items has been selected, for example by touching the relevantarea of the screen for a sufficiently long time, an audible output isprovided as confirmation.

Other touch-sensitive computer input devices are known, for example fromU.S. Pat. No. 5,767,457, which discloses a computer system with adisplay, and a separate touch-sensitive input device. In this system, acursor may be moved around the display by moving a stylus on atouch-sensitive screen, and an input can be made by tapping the styluson the screen. Again, this document discloses that, when an input ismade, an audible output is provided as confirmation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A further problem, which arises with many input devices, is that it isnot always clear to the user when a cursor, or a stylus, or other inputpointer, is correctly positioned over an input region of a displayscreen.

According to the present invention, there is provided an input device,including a display screen, which is adapted to provide a first type ofaudible output when a region of the display screen is indicated forpossible input, and a second type of audible output when an input ismade at a region of the display screen.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the input device is atouch-sensitive screen, and different regions of the screen canrepresent different available inputs. For example, the input device maybe used in a mobile communications device such as a mobile phone, andthe touch-sensitive screen can be used a keypad, with different regionsof the screen representing the numeric and other keys on the keypad.

When the input device is a touch-sensitive screen, the first type ofaudible output can be provided in response to a detected movement in aregion of the display screen, and the second type of audible output canbe provided in response to removal of a touch from within a region ofthe display screen, when an input is made.

An alternative possibility is that the first type of audible outputcould be provided in response to a light touch on the display screen,while the second type of audible output could be provided only inresponse to a second touch which meets specific criteria intended toavoid the possibility of inadvertent activation. For example, the forceand/or duration of the second touch may have to be within predeterminedlimits.

In this way, the touch-sensitive screen and the audible feedback can beused to provide the user with the same feedback which he would normallyreceive when using a conventional keypad. That is, the user can use theaudible feedback to determine when his finger is on a specific key of atouch-sensitive keypad, in the same way that a user can use his sense oftouch to determine when his finger is on a specific key of aconventional keypad.

In order to increase the usefulness of the audible feedback, the firstaudible output can in some or all cases indicate which key has beentouched.

There is therefore provided an input device, which allows a user to diala number on a mobile phone having the numeric keys provided on atouch-sensitive screen, without needing to look carefully at the screen.

In alternative embodiments of the invention, the input device mayinclude a screen, and a separate touch-sensitive pad with a pointer suchas a stylus. Movements of the stylus on the touch-sensitive pad can thenbe used to select areas on the screen, and to make inputs in selectedareas. Again, in accordance with the invention, the first sound can beprovided as an audible output when the cursor indicates a particularregion on the screen, while the second sound can be provided as anaudible output when an input is registered at such a region.

It should be emphasised that the term “comprises/comprising” when usedin this specification is taken to specify the presence of statedfeatures, integers, steps or components but does not preclude thepresence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps,components or groups thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a mobile communications device in accordance with theinvention.

FIG. 2 is a block schematic diagram of the device of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing an operating process of the device ofFIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 shows a mobile communications device in the form of a mobilephone 2, in accordance with an aspect of the present invention. Themobile communications device 2 has a loudspeaker outlet 4, a microphoneinlet 6, and a touch-sensitive display screen 8.

The advantage of providing a touch-sensitive display screen is that thescreen can be used to input dialled numbers, as well as access the otherfunctions of the phone, avoiding the need to provide a keypad. Thisallows the phone 2 to be made significantly smaller, which is generallythought desirable by users of mobile phones.

Although the invention is described herein with reference to its use ina mobile phone, it is generally applicable to portable radiocommunication equipment or mobile radio terminals, such as mobiletelephones, pagers, communicators, electronic organisers, smartphones,personal digital assistants (PDAs), or the like. Other embodiments ofthe invention are applicable to other systems such as palmtop, laptop orpersonal computer systems, which are provided with a display, and adevice for selecting different areas of the display screen.

FIG. 1 shows the status of the display on the touch-sensitive screen 8,at a time when the device is in a phone dialling mode. That is, thescreen includes regions which generally correspond in terms of theirsize and position with the keys of a conventional mobile phone keypad.Specifically, the screen includes YES and NO regions 10, 12, up and downregions 14, 16 and regions 18 corresponding to the numeric keys 0-9 aswell as the * and # keys of a conventional mobile phone keypad.

In other modes of the device, the display which corresponds to thekeypad can be entirely replaced by an alternative display. For example,if the phone has internet access, the entire screen 8 can be used todisplay web pages or other internet content.

FIG. 2 is a block schematic diagram of the mobile phone 2 shown inFIG. 1. It will be appreciated that FIG. 2 shows only those parts of thephone which are relevant to an understanding of the present invention.Other components and features of the phone may be generallyconventional, and will not be described further herein. In particular,the following description relates only to the control of the device bymeans of the user interaction with the touch-sensitive display screen 8,without describing the way in which radio signals are transmitted andreceived.

The phone 2 operates under the general control of a controller 30. Asmentioned above, the phone 2 has a touch-sensitive display screen 8. Ina presently preferred embodiment, the touch-sensitive display screen 8is a resistive analog touch-sensitive screen, which is located above aliquid crystal display. However, any type of touch-sensitive screen, andany type of display, may be used.

The controller is also connected to a sounder 32, which provides audibleoutputs to the user, as will be described in more detail below.

The information which is presented on the display can vary, depending onthe operating mode of the device. For example, while the device is in aphone dialling mode, the entire screen can be used to present a largerepresentation of a phone keypad. Alternatively, one part of the screencan be used to present a representation of a phone keypad, while anotherpart of the screen presents a conventional phone display, for exampleincluding information about a dialled number.

When the phone is in a different operating mode, the information whichis presented on the display can be something completely different.However, in any operating mode, the display can present the user with alist of available options, in the form of written descriptions of thoseoptions, icons representing the options, etc.

In any case, the user can select one of the available options bytouching the relevant area on the screen in a specific way. For example,the screen may accept an input only when the screen is touched withinthe relevant area, and the touch is then removed.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart describing the operation of the controller 30, inconjunction with the touch-sensitive display screen 8, in order toprovide audible feedback to the user. In this example, it will beassumed that the device is in the phone dialling mode described above,although the invention is applicable to any mode, and irrespective ofthe form of information displayed on the screen.

In step 50, the process begins when the screen is active and, in step52, the screen detects whether the user has touched the screen. If notouch pressure has been applied, the process repeats step 52 until atouch is detected. If a touch pressure is detected, the position of thetouch is detected in a conventional way in step 53 and, in step 54, itis determined whether the detected position of the touch is within oneof the keys represented on the display. In practice, this can beachieved by detecting the location of the user's touch, and comparingthis with the known locations of the areas which represent the keys, butthe mechanism for doing this is known in itself.

If it is determined in step 54 that the touch is within one of the keysrepresented on the display, the process passes to step 56, and it isnext determined whether the touch pressure has been removed.

If it is determined that the touch pressure remains, the process returnsto step 53, and attempts to detect a new position of the touch. If it isdetermined in step 56 that the touch pressure has been removed, theprocess passes to step 58, in which the system registers an input on thekey represented on the relevant area of the display, and to step 60, inwhich the controller causes the sounder 32 to produce an audible output,which indicates that the input has been registered. The procedure thenends.

If is determined in step 54 that the touch is not within one of the keysrepresented on the display, the process passes to step 62, in which itis determined whether the touch pressure has been removed.

If the touch pressure has been removed, that is, the user has simplytouched the screen outside any of the keys, and then removed the touch,the process ends. No input is registered, and no output is provided.

If it is determined in step 62 that the touch pressure remains, theprocess passes to step 64, in which the position of the touch is againdetected in a conventional way.

In step 66, it is then determined whether the detected position haschanged since the last time the position was measured. If not, that isif the touch has remained in the same position, the process returns tostep 62. However, if it is determined in step 66 that the position ofthe touch has changed since the last time it was detected, the processpasses to step 68.

This situation can occur when the user is moving his finger or otherimplement around on the touch-sensitive screen, for example attemptingto locate a particular key which he wishes to press. This may arise whenthe user is operating the phone in poor visibility conditions, or in asituation where he cannot pay close attention to the phone. It istherefore this situation in which, according to the present invention,it is recognised that it may be very useful to receive audible feedbackabout the position of the user's finger on the touch-sensitive screen.

In step 68, it is determined whether the detected position of the touchis within one of the keys represented on the screen. If it is not, theprocess returns to step 62. If the detected position of the touch iswithin one of the keys, the process passes to step 70.

In step 70, it is determined whether the key which the user is currentlytouching is a key which the user was touching immediately previously,and whether audible feedback has previously been provided from this key.If so, the procedure returns to step 62. Thus the system preferably onlyprovides audible feedback when the touch is first sensed within a key,but audible feedback can be provided from several keys, if the touchposition moves around the screen. If the touch position has just movedonto the key, that is, no audible feedback has previously been providedfrom this key, the procedure passes to step 72, in which an audibleoutput is provided. As is conventional, the appearance of the key mayalso be altered (for example changed to white text on a black backgroundinstead of black text on a white background). The procedure then returnsto step 62.

The audible output which is provided in step 72 to indicate that a keyhas been touched without registering an input, should be distinguishablefrom the audible output which would have been provided in step 60 toindicate that an input had been registered. For example, the toneprovided in step 72 could be shorter in duration and/or quieter and/orat a different frequency from the tone provided in step 60.

The user will know, for example, that a numeric keypad of a phone hasfour rows of three keys each, and that the display of the presentinvention has the touch-sensitive regions arranged in the same pattern.Therefore, by moving his finger around the screen, the user will be ableto determine the positions of the keys using the audible feedback alone,without needing to look at the screen. In order to make this operationmore convenient, the audible output can provide additional cues.

For example, every key could provide a different sound. Specifically,different tones could be provided, or the output could be the numericalvalue of the key spoken in human language. Alternatively, the audibleoutput corresponding to one of the keys (preferably the “5” key, sincethis is located centrally on the screen) can differ from the audibleoutputs corresponding to the other keys.

Although the invention has been described herein with reference to itsuse with a touch-sensitive display screen, it will be appreciated thatit is also applicable to other input devices which use screens todisplay a list of user-selectable options.

For example, a device such as a computer, or a communications device,may be provided with a screen and a separate touch-sensitive pad. Acursor may be moved around a screen by means of a pointer, which may bea user's finger or may be a specially-provided stylus, moving on thetouch-sensitive pad. The system can be put into a mode where the cursoris not necessarily visible, and instead there is a one-to-onerelationship (with a scaling factor) between positions on the touch padand the display. Then the method for indication becomes the same forboth touch screen and touch pad. Again, two distinguishable types ofaudible output can be provided, one indicating that the pointer is in auser-selectable region, and the other indicating that a user input hasbeen registered. This mode could be selected, or deselected, by forexample three taps on the touch pad.

There is therefore provided a device, and a method of control therefor,which provide audible feedback to a user of a device with atouch-sensitive input system, allowing improved ease of use.

1. An input system, including a display screen and a touch-sensitiveinput device, wherein the touch-sensitive input device is adapted toallow a region of the display screen to be indicated for possible input,and to allow an input to be made at a region of the display screen, andwherein the input system is adapted to provide a first type of audibleoutput when a region of the display screen is indicated for possibleinput, and a second type of audible output when an input is made at aregion of the display screen.
 2. An input device as claimed in claim 1,wherein different regions of the screen can represent differentavailable inputs.
 3. An input device as claimed in claim 2, adapted toprovide distinguishable audible outputs of the first type correspondingto different regions of the screen representing different availableinputs.
 4. An input device as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein thetouch-sensitive input device is a touch-sensitive screen which isintegral with the display screen.
 5. An input device as claimed in claim1, 2 or 3, wherein the touch-sensitive input device comprises atouch-sensitive pad separate from the display screen, wherein movementsof a pointer on the separate touch-sensitive pad are used to selectregions on the display screen.
 6. A method of operation of an inputsystem, the system comprising a touch-sensitive input device and adisplay screen, the method comprising providing a first type of audibleoutput when a region of the display screen is indicated for possibleinput, and a second type of audible output when an input is made at aregion of the display screen.
 7. A method as claimed in claim 6,comprising determining that a region of the display screen is indicatedfor possible input when a pointer moves within a corresponding region ofthe touch-sensitive input device.
 8. A method as claimed in claim 6 or7, comprising determining that an input is made at a region of thedisplay screen when a touch is removed from a corresponding region ofthe touch-sensitive input device.
 9. A mobile communications device,comprising a touch-sensitive display screen, comprising means forproviding a first type of audible output when a region of the displayscreen is indicated for possible input, and a second type of audibleoutput when an input is made at a region of the display screen.
 10. Amobile communications device as claimed in claim 9, wherein, in oneoperating mode of the device, the display screen represents a keypad,with different regions of the screen representing different availableinputs.
 11. A mobile communications device as claimed in claim 10,wherein the display screen represents a numeric keypad, with differentregions of the screen representing different numerical inputs.
 12. Amobile communications device as claimed in claim 9, comprising means fordistinguishing between a first touch on the screen, and a second touchon the screen, wherein only the second touch is used to generate aninput to the device.
 13. A mobile communications device as claimed inclaim 12, wherein the means for distinguishing comprises means fordetermining that the touch has been removed from the screen.
 14. Amobile communications device as claimed in any of claims 9 to 13,wherein the first type of audible output includes a plurality ofdistinguishable audible outputs corresponding to different regions ofthe screen.
 15. A mobile communications device as claimed in claim 9,wherein, in one operating mode of the device, the display screenrepresents a numeric keypad, with different regions of the screenrepresenting different numerical inputs, and wherein the first type ofaudible output includes a plurality of distinguishable audible outputscorresponding to different numerical inputs.
 16. A mobile communicationsdevice as claimed in claim 15, wherein the plurality of distinguishableaudible outputs comprises a first distinguishable audible outputcorresponding to the numeral “5”, and a second distinguishable audibleoutput corresponding to other numerical inputs.
 17. A mobilecommunications device as claimed in claim 15, wherein the plurality ofdistinguishable audible outputs comprises audible outputs correspondingto the numerical inputs pronounced in human language.
 18. A method ofcontrolling a device with a touch-sensitive input screen, the methodcomprising providing a first mode of operation of the device, the methodcomprising, in the first mode of operation: representing a keypad on thetouch-sensitive input screen, such that specific regions of the screencorrespond to specific keys of a keypad; detecting a touch on thetouch-sensitive input screen; if it is detected that a touch moves in aregion of the screen corresponding to a key, providing a first type ofaudible output; and if it is detected that a touch is removed from aregion of the screen corresponding to a key, providing a second type ofaudible output.